Shiva Shanker Bhatta (@shivashankerbhatta) – WordPress user profile

Shiva Shanker Bhatta

Founder & CEO | Themes Team Rep, Plugins Team & W3C Accessibility Reviewer at AF themes & Go With WP

@shivashankerbhatta Kathmandu, Nepal joined Jul 2014

afthemes.com github.com/shivashankerbhatta Slack: @Shiva Shanker Bhatta

Teams Accessibility Community Plugins Polyglots Themes

Languages ne de_DE fr_FR

Bio

Hi, I’m Shiva Shanker Bhatta — Founder & CEO at AF Themes, an open-source advocate, and a dedicated WordPress contributor for over a decade.

WordPress changed my life. Today, I build tools, mentor creators, and contribute to the community to ensure it does the same for others worldwide.

📍 What I Do in the Ecosystem

🛡️ Plugins Review Team | Vetting submissions, managing guideline violations, and securing the global ecosystem. Proud member of the team that historically smashed the 1,050+ plugin backlog down to zero.

♿ Accessibility Advocate & Reviewer | Actively working on accessibility testing and guidelines to ensure the open web remains completely inclusive for everyone.

⚖️ Former Themes Team Rep | Spent 3+ years leading the team tasked with maintaining high code and security standards for the official Theme Directory.

🇳🇵 Locale Manager (GTE) | General Translation Editor for ne_NP, bridging the language gap for the Nepali community.

🎙️ Go With WP Producer | Hosting deep-dive podcasts and tech workshops with global product leaders to teach the community how to build for the future web.

🏗️ Building at Scale
Through AF Themes, my team builds fast, highly optimized, block-based Full Site Editing (FSE) themes powering 100,000+ active websites globally. We build for publishers, media organizations, and creators who need bulletproof digital infrastructure.

📜 Flagship Contribution History
I believe in “building together.” Over the years, I’ve stepped up across the globe:

• Flagship Organizer: WordCamp US 2026 (Accessibility), WordCamp Europe 2025 (Community), and WordCamp Asia 2023 (Audio/Video).
• Official Media Partner: WordCamp Europe (Kraków 2026, Basel 2025, Torino 2024), WordCamp Asia (2024), and WordCamp Kolkata.
• Regional Organizer & Speaker: WordCamp Kathmandu (Organizer, Speaker, and Polyglots Track Lead 2016–2022) and local meetup coordinator.

🤝 Support My Work
If you or your organization benefit from the themes I build, the security reviews I conduct, or the educational content I produce via Go With WP, I welcome your sponsorship. Your support directly buys me dedicated weekly hours to give back to the open-source community.

Let’s connect and build a faster, more accessible open web — together!

Interests

WordPress development, open-source contribution, digital publishing, local journalism, podcasting, community building, mentoring, remote collaboration, no-code tools, teaching tech in schools, W3C Accessibility

WordPress Origin Story

My Journey: From a Borrowed Laptop to Global Impact
My WordPress story began in 2010 with nothing but curiosity and a borrowed laptop. I was trying to help a friend launch a simple blog for a youth initiative in Nepal. I stumbled upon WordPress—and it completely changed the trajectory of my life.

Back then, I didn’t fully grasp the philosophy of “Open Source,” but I felt its power. I spent years experimenting, breaking things, and rebuilding. Eventually, I realized that WordPress wasn’t just software; it was a global community. I knew I wanted to be more than just a user—I wanted to be a builder and a bridge.

Building Tools & Breaking Barriers
That passion led me to found AF Themes, where we build news and publishing tools for people like I once was: creators trying to make a big impact with limited resources. Today, our block-based Full Site Editing (FSE) themes empower over 100,000 active websites worldwide.

But code is only half the story. I founded Go With WP to bring WordPress education to schools and universities across Nepal. Seeing the spark in students’ eyes led to local training initiatives that helped inspire what has now evolved into the global Campus Connect program.

A Decade of Giving Back
Because I remember exactly what it feels like to be a beginner, I’ve dedicated the last decade to serving the ecosystem that gave me so much:

Plugin Security & Quality: Serving on the Plugins Review Team to vet fresh submissions, manage guidelines, and maintain a safer web ecosystem for everyone.

Theme Directory Leadership: Spending 3+ years as a former Themes Team Representative to give back to the core repository that launched my own career.

Localization: Acting as a General Translation Editor (GTE) to ensure WordPress speaks Nepali (ne_NP) so the next generation of creators in my home country can lead.

Global Connection: Stepping up to organize and champion flagship events worldwide, including the WordCamp US 2026 Accessibility Squad, WordCamp Europe 2025 (Community), and WordCamp Asia 2023 (Audio/Video), alongside serving as a recurrent international Media Partner.

WordPress gave me a platform to create, teach, and grow. Every day, I work to ensure that same ecosystem remains open, accessible, and life-changing for the next person out there with a borrowed laptop and a big dream.

Let’s connect and build the future of the open web together.

Badges

CODE

5 badges

Core Contributor '23 Plugin Developer Plugins Team '26 Theme Developer Themes Team '19

CONTENT

1 badge

Photo Contributor '23

COMMUNITY

2 badges

WordCamp Organizer '19 WordCamp Speaker '18

POLYGLOTS

2 badges

Translation Contributor '16 Translation Editor '17

Current Job

Founder & CEO | Themes Team Rep, Plugins Team & W3C Accessibility Reviewer

Jan 2018 – Present

AF themes & Go With WP · Full-time

As the Founder and CEO of AF Themes, I architect high-performance, block-based Full Site Editing (FSE) themes that power 100,000+ active websites globally. My work operates at the high-stakes intersection of commercial scale and global open-source governance, sitting as an active member of the official WordPress Plugins Team. In this role, I serve as a gatekeeper for the global ecosystem—vetting source code, ensuring platform security, and directly enforcing the guidelines that keep the official repository safe.

This deep proximity to core standards is mirrored by my selection as a W3C Accessibility Reviewer, where I audit digital platforms to ensure universal inclusion and strict WCAG compliance. Previously, I spent over three years leading repository standards as an official WordPress Themes Team Representative, and I continue to direct localization efforts as the General Translation Editor (Locale Manager) for the Nepali (ne_NP) community.

Through AF Themes and the Go With WP platform, I leverage this unique combination of ecosystem leadership, plugin security vetting, and W3C web standards to build digital infrastructure that is secure, fast, and accessible to everyone.

Key Accomplishments

Appointed as a Flagship Organizer for WordCamp US 2026 (Accessibility Squad), alongside prior organizing leadership for WordCamp Europe 2025 (Community) and WordCamp Asia 2023 (Audio/Video), directing global infrastructure and inclusive experiences for thousands of international attendees.

Chosen as an official multi-year Media Partner for WordCamp Europe (2024–2026) and WordCamp Asia (2024) via Go With WP, amplifying ecosystem stories and interviewing top product and core leaders worldwide.

Scaled AF Themes to 100,000+ active installations worldwide, engineering performance-optimized, block-based Full Site Editing (FSE) themes designed specifically for high-traffic news and media organizations.

Selected as an official global WordPress Plugins Team reviewer, serving as a vital repository gatekeeper to enforce security guidelines, and actively collaborating in the historic push that cleared the 1,050+ plugin backlog down to zero.

Served as an official WordPress Themes Team Representative, dedicating 3+ consecutive years to leading team initiatives, establishing directory policy, and maintaining code-quality standards for the global repository.

Recognized as a W3C Accessibility Reviewer, driving web standard testing to align modern open-source publishing infrastructure with universal WCAG compliance.

Recent impact

Score weights high-impact work (commits, releases, approved translations, props) at 3x routine activity.

Last 30 days

3contributions

high2

medium1

score7

Last 90 days

21contributions

high18

medium3

score57

Last 12 months

80contributions

high73

medium7

score226

Team focus

Share of contributions across teams during the last 365 days

WordPress releases

Contributed to 2 releases

Time commitment

20 hours per week

On my own time 20 hrs/wk

Contributions

Type

August 2026

Aug 13 Thu · 00:37

Polyglots high

Translated 10 strings on translate.wordpress.org.

Aug 12 Wed · 11:42

Polyglots high

Translated 21 strings on translate.wordpress.org.

Aug 12 Wed · 08:15

Polyglots med

Suggested 268 strings on translate.wordpress.org.

July 2026

Jul 30 Thu · 08:23

Plugins high

Committed [3628178] to Plugins SVN:
Supported WC version

Jul 30 Thu · 08:21

Plugins high

Committed [3628171] to Plugins SVN:
Supported WC version

Jul 30 Thu · 08:17

Plugins high

Committed [3628166] to Plugins SVN:
Supported php version

Jul 29 Wed · 17:43

Themes med

Closed ticket #283702 on Themes Trac:
THEME: Neve – 4.2.10

Jul 29 Wed · 17:40

Themes med

Closed ticket #281707 on Themes Trac:
THEME: Wild Lemon – 1.2

Jul 29 Wed · 17:35

Themes med

Closed ticket #278953 on Themes Trac:
THEME: Kindly – 1.0.1

Jul 29 Wed · 17:26

Themes med

Closed ticket #263265 on Themes Trac:
THEME: Workstation – 1.1.2

Plugins 4
Themes 1
Photos 5
Courses 1
Translations 40

Developer

4 plugins

Floating Minicart for WooCommerce

200+ active installs
Floating Social Share Bar (Lizard)

10+ active installs
Set Price Note (Units, Offers, Editions) for WooCommerce

700+ active installs
Total Sales Counts for WooCommerce

600+ active installs

Themes

1 theme

A Magazine

20+ active installs

Photos

5 contributions

View all 5 photos in the Photo Directory

Completed courses

1 completed

WordPress Credits Mentor's Course

Completed October 31, 2025

Browse courses on Learn WordPress

Translations

40 locales

ne_NP नेपाली (Nepali) General Translation Editor Translation Contributor

Contributed translations to 13 projects.

WordPress.org Gutenberg CentralNews WordPress 4.6.x WordPress 4.7.x WordPress 4.8.x WordPress 4.9.x WordPress 5.0.x WordPress 5.1.x WordPress 5.2.x WordPress 5.3.x WordPress 5.7.x WordPress 7.1.x - Development

Profiles

Bio

Interests

WordPress Origin Story

Badges

Current Job

Key Accomplishments

Recent impact

Team focus

WordPress releases

Time commitment

Contributions

Developer

Floating Minicart for WooCommerce

Floating Social Share Bar (Lizard)

Set Price Note (Units, Offers, Editions) for WooCommerce

Total Sales Counts for WooCommerce

Themes

A Magazine

Photos

Completed courses

Translations